What every newb should know

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My lights tale. I used my Prius to help with odds and ends in moving to a different home. The back seats folded. To my horror in the new home I discovered that the battery was dead. It got towed and it turned out that the 12volt battery had drained. Couldn't figure out how that happened. While I was on the phone explaining all this to a follow-up from toyota about this experience, a neighbor knocked on my door to tell me that my back ceiling light was on and she was afraid it would drain my battery!! Since my car was now in a sheltered carport type area which had lights, I didn't see this.

Then trying to turn off the ceiling light was very educational. I couldn't--- until I slowly dealt with it. It's a three way switch and the middle location is the off location!! Not only that, it's a smooth transition. Not a audible click transition. So it would have been easy for turn the switch on just by brushing against it with packages.
I always look inside to make sure the light isn't shining.

2008 Prius. BTW, now I'm getting 50mpg in local driving. Seems getting right up to 5000 miles makes a difference. Also fall weather and no a/c must be helpful too. I now travel 40 miles round-trip instead of 20 and that is extremely helpful. Decided to keep my PO Box at the same place to force me to exercise the Prius. I now have to exercise my dog and my car. Talk about health maintenance.

 

And what part of this is a good idea?
You might get better mpgs, but you're burning more fuel overall, and it's not helping the Prius at all, just putting on more miles than needed, reducing your resale value and feeding those terrorists in OPEC-istan. I drive 6 miles a day (when I'm not biking), occasionally longer on the weekends, and everything stays charged up just fine, so it's not like your car needs it. My mpg might be very slightly lower, but my gpm (gallons per month) is doing great.

 

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I drive with the battery graphic. It gets all green a lot now. Also more green arrows even when blue. I wrote computer programs for 26 years. The algorithms need a lot of data to produce correct fuel management. At my 20 mile round trip for 2.5 years, with just maxing at 3500 miles, when the maintenance people talked about all green, didn't know what they were talking about. 41mpg. In these past 2 months getting almost to 5000 miles. I even feel the difference. The computer seems to tell me how to drive strategically. I think the parts of any robot have to be exercised. I even think I'm a biological robot.

I never learned to ride a bike. Back before WWII, we were so poor, mom couldn't take a chance on broken bones. It was bad enough that I had tooth decay. We used to walk to the Capitol of the US to roller skate. However, sports medicine has enabled me to recover from an auto accident with titanium in my right leg/ankle because of a crushed ankle. If I was allowed to carry my toy poodle in a body carrier, into a grocery store, I'd be walking even more distances

 

I didn't really follow all that. (Maintenance people talked about all green? 3500 miles comes from what?) I'm just saying there's no reason to drive 20 miles in an effort to get better mpg.

You do know that for best mileage, you want to use the engine power as much as possible, and save the battery for rare occasions of harder acceleration. The battery also keeps the accessories available when you're in a glide or the engine's off while at a light, that's the best purpose for the battery - don't try to accelerate under battery power only.

I only drive 6 miles a day most days, and my lifetime average is 49 mpg (this includes Chicago winters). In summer I average about 53 mpg, my current tank is showing 55.6 mpg. With a longer commute, my mpg would be higher, but I'd still be using more gas overall.

BTW, I also write software, been doing embedded software for 20 years. My current project uses the same RTOS as that used in the Prius.

 

Very helpful post. I have been thinking about what you wrote (I'm not answering your questions about maintenance folks vocabulary) as I drive to my P.O.Box. I understood what you were saying. The reason I'm glad it's far away is because I bought the Prius as my last harrah. I enjoy getting the readouts. Didn't you say that you travel with it on weekends and use a bike most of the time? How far do you travel on weekends? My distance to the POBox increased to about 30 miles round trip from about 10 miles round trip. So naturally I'm using more gas.

The reason I'm keeping my POBox where it is, is actually psychological. It's taken me my move to another location to force me to use my Prius more to help me move. Now that I'm settled, this longer distance will keep up my driving skills. I'm an extremely cautious driver and there is a certain amount of skill required to drive, with respect to peripheral vision and rear vision simultaneously with front vision and strategy. The extra gas is worth it because it's therapy for me. Driving is actually physical and psychological exercise for me. I'm 81YO and it's the only way I know to test my own body. Especially with folks who use their cars as if they were playing a game with everyone and every traffic signal.

When I leased my Prius, it was my last hurrah, in modernity. So you've actually educated me.

 

Okay, this helps. I was thinking you were driving farther in order to benefit the car or improve your gas mileage, and that would be counter-productive. You have other reasons for the driving, and that I can accept.

Yes, about 7 months of the year I ride my bike about 3 days a week to work (about 500 miles in a year), but the rest of the time I'm driving. Weekend driving varies quite a bit, 5-40 miles, it's generally enough to help improve my overall average a bit, and I've never had a problem keeping the batteries charged. It's not the best situation for high mpg numbers, but my goal is to keep healthy (by biking when I can) and reduce oil imports. Including the occasional road trip, usually 1400 miles in a week going back home to MN, I use about 14 gallons/month for transportation, can't beat that with a stick!

Another of your hurrahs in modernity seems to be using PriusChat. I can't get my 77 YO dad to even use e-mail, although he likes to fix tube radios and was an electronics teacher at one time. He'll read the e-mails that my mom receives, but replying is a different matter.

 

Hello all, just an introduction! glad to be a member.

 

Btt

 

:welcome:

 

i <3 this forum!

 

Wow took me almost three and a half days to read this entire post, My thanks to all that contributed.

Just got my first Prius about a week ago. 2007 #6 with 40,000 miles and loving it.

One thing I would like to note for other new users is how valuable reading the TSB section was for me. I heard a lot of noises and attributed them to the unknown noises of a Hybrid. After reading the TSB section I learned that I need a new coolant pump and that the seal trapped under the hood in my brakes is an addressed issue. Not a safety concern still but a repairable thing. Both of these plus the Ipod filter get installed Monday. Thanks to PC for helping me to determine what is normal and what is not while my warranty still exists.

Dave

 

Thanks! This saves much time.

 

I found this to be helpful.... I am the new owner of a 2001 used Toyota Prius....Recently, I had to take the car in because the gas gauge was wrong and the service man at Toyota discovered that the fuel bladder inside the fuel tank is damaged. We now have to replace the fuel tank...

Is it possible that the bladder was damaged because of over fueling?

Also, is a $600.00 + repair reasonable?

 

Newbie here thinking of buying a certified used 2009 Prius! Since I can't for the life of me figure out how to start a new thread, I'll just have to reply to this one. (Can someone please tell me how to start a new thread?!)

My questions are this:

-Does anyone have a Prius-savvy mechanic recommendation for the Austin Texas area?

-I've found that the most recent battery replacements estimates are about $2000 for the battery and $600 for labor. Does this seem accurate?

-what should I be wary of when evaluating this Prius before I buy?

-oh, and can you ever get rid of the smell of smoke? I think this car was smoked in!

Thanks,
Susanna

 

While battery cost can vary depending on the age of the battery, new vs used, those figures seem like good estimates. Hybrid battery should be good for 150,000 to 200,00 miles + The 12 volt battery that turns the computer on should be good for 3-5 years. It costs about $200 but that high cost is offset by the absence of many other typical auto parts that start appearing after 3/4 years.
You can view an owner's manual by joining the Toyota Owners site, that will alert you to fluid change intervals etc.
Evalute it just as you would any other car. Damage ? Abuse? Milage?
Welcome to PC Chat. Read a lot here and you'll have a good idea about what to expect and how to care for your baby.
If you do not get a good recommendation on a service provider I'd fall back on a local Toyota dealer for primary care. Service like oil changes can be done by any competent (trustworthy) provider.

:welcome:

Oh, the cig smoke issue could be a real long term project...if buying from a dealer I'd get a written agreement to remove it and reremove it as needed until it's permenantly gone. Seating, heating/ac ducts and carpet can really take several attacks. Perfume will only mask but not remove it. If you're real sensitive and it"s heavy...hesitate on buying ...

 

Regarding the smoke issue if you go ahead and get the vehicle you can try Dakota Non-Smoke aerosol. It's industrial strength and has to be used very carefully and will take many days/weeks, but works really well. I used it getting smoking odors out of old pinball machines, spraying it on a paper towel and leaving it inside the machine each night. But only after a good cleaning, as noted above, and it's tough/impossible to clean ductwork on a car. But you may be successful in getting rid of the odor if it isn't too bad.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

I have so much to learn

 

i just got my prius a few days ago, and just started really learning about it today...to my horror, it seems that i have not been treating it well, according to all you wonderful people that have been posting on this site...my biggest fear is that i've hurt it somehow by driving it too fast...i got it with 10 miles on the odometer, and then drove it about 40 miles home, on the highway, pushing upwards of 80-90 miles per hour (please, no comments on how dangerous speeding is), and since, have been driving it to/from work, averaging about 70mph...i've read on this site that during the "break in" period, i shouldn't drive it that fast for the first 600 miles...have it messed something up in the car by driving it so fast so soon?